“Trent had a gun he stole from our uncle, but it changed hands and ended up in Damien’s. He shot Trent, and for a long time, the Slaters thought that Damien had murdered my brother. My uncle, who was a twisted son of a bitch, decided to keep Trent’s living status a secret from the brothers because they offered to pay off a life debt for what Damien had done since the punishment would have been Damien’s life for Trent’s.”
I shrunk lower into the chair.
“Each of the brothers has their own skillset that my uncle capitalised on. Dominic became his champion fighter in the underground when he was only fifteen. Ryder became his drug and weapons mule, Kane became his enforcer, and Alec became his prostitute. For a few years, they worked and worked hard. They had paid back the life debt and then some when they decided they wanted out. They came here for one last job, liked the place, and decided to settle.”
I had always wondered what brought the brothers to Ireland, and now that I knew, I’d give anything to be in the dark once again.
“Now, these men made my uncle a lot of money, so when they decided that they were done working for him, you can imagine how that displeased him. He came to Ireland to … talk the brothers into staying. That’s where you come into the story.”
I blanched. “Me?”
“Yes, Alannah, you.”
“I’ve never been involved with—”
“You were unconscious at the time, so you wouldn’t remember.”
I widened my eyes. “What?”
“I came to Ireland with my brother, uncle, and some of our men, but hurting people was never my scene. I hated that shit, to be honest. I watched everything from the shadows of Darkness, and after my uncle had you, Damien, and Bronagh at his mercy, I left the club. It’s a damn good thing I did because my brother died that night at the hands of the Slaters, and if I stayed, I would have, too.”
“Hold on,” I said, shaking my head. “How can you be sure I was there?”
“Because I was with Trent when you walked outside the nightclub and sat down on the kerb,” Morgan answered. “We were told to get you as leverage in case Damien and Bronagh weren’t enough to sway the brothers into keeping their jobs, and then you just walked out of the club like you were gift wrapped for us. It was too easy. Trent punched you in the back of your head, and boom, you were out like a light.”
I lifted my hand and rubbed my fingers over the back of my head.
“I remember,” I said softly. “I thought I just passed out from drinking.”
“Nope, it was all orchestrated,” Morgan replied. “Though, I did stop Trent from raping you.”
I choked on air.
“What?”
“My brother was sick and twisted, Alannah.”
I had to take deep breaths.
“He never touched you,” Morgan pressed. “I carried you into the club, then I left because Trent went to collect Bronagh from one of the back rooms.”
“Oh, my God,” I said, wrapping my arms around my waist. “Oh, my God.”
“I’m pressing on because I’m not finished yet,” Morgan said.
I wasn’t sure if I could handle hearing anymore.
“A few years passed by after that,” Morgan continued. “I’ve been here the whole time, and I kept my ear to the ground once I found out Alec developed a connection with Brandy Daley. I didn’t even reconnect with my uncle, though he was still alive. Everything back home started to fall apart, thanks to Brandy Daley interfering, and the feds started sniffing around, so I knew Marco would have made me do something that would get me killed.”
My entire body was shaking.
“Alec killed my uncle,” Morgan said, devastating me. “Word travels amongst Daley’s circle, and since I know a few h is men, I got information fed to me. That’s how I knew Big Phil showed up a few years later, gunning for revenge for Kane killing his son, and the others for killing Marco and Trent.”
“What?” I asked, my voice cracking. “What the fuck?”
“If I stop to explain every detail, your head will explode, angel.”
“Stop callin’ me that.”
Morgan ignored me. “You know that fire your friend Aideen was in at the school? Big Phil started that to kill her. He failed and got away. But he got Branna, and bloodied her up good, judging from the reports in the news. Big Phil was the man who Kane reported to during his time working for my uncle, and when Kane didn’t do what he was told, he was scarred. Kane killed Big Phil’s son for attacking a kid, and the man was hell-bent on revenge. He never got it … he died; Kane killed him.”
I felt like I was going to be sick.
“You’ll be glad to know that’s where all the killing ends.”
Tears that were pooled in my eyes, fell and splashed on my cheeks when I blinked.
“Ryder was involved with the feds for a while, though I’ve no idea what for, but they’ve backed off him now, and as far as I can tell, life is as normal as can be for the Slaters. Unbeknownst to them that I’m in your life, of course.”
“I should have never hired you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Morgan said with a snort. “Your system was a mess. I cleaned everything up for you, and you know it.”
“Shut up.” I sniffed. “Just stop talkin’.”
“You won’t be able to process all of this information, Alannah, not when you still don’t believe it’s true.”
I focused my blurry vision on Morgan’s face.
“How do ye’know I doubt you?”
“Because I can see it on your face every time I told you a Slater did something awful,” he answered gently. “The men you know aren’t capable of what I’ve described, but that’s my entire point. You don’t know who they are, and they were never going to tell you so I had to.”
“I need to see them,” I said. “To talk to them.”
“Go ahead and call them,” Morgan encouraged. “Invite them around.”
I hesitated.
“Go on,” he urged. “I want to see their faces when they realise that they’ve lost you.”
With a trembling hand, I dialled Damien’s number and prayed he’d answer.
“Hey babe,” he answered on the fourth ring. “I just saw your messages. I’m at work.”
“Da-damien?”
Things went quiet. “Alannah?”
“I need you and all your brothers to come to my apartment right now.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Do ye’know a Carter Miles?”
Silence.
“Damien?”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“From him,” I answered, looking Morgan dead in his eyes. “He is sittin’ right in front of me, and he has told me all sorts of lies about you and your brothers.”
“Lock yourself in your bedroom,” Damien demanded as rushed movements could be heard. “Get away from him, right now.”
“He isn’t goin’ to hurt me. He said so.”
“Alannah, listen to me. Get away from him. Now. You don’t know this guy.”
“But I do.” I frowned, or at least I thought I once did. “He’s been workin’ for me for the past couple of weeks.”
“Drink your tea.”
“I’m goin’ to be sick, Morgan.”
He chuckled. “Why won’t you call me Carter?”
“Because I only know you as Morgan.”
“Fair enough.”
I glanced towards my sitting room door, waiting for Damien and his brothers to burst through it any minute. I phoned them fifteen minutes ago, and I knew they were going to arrive anytime now. Morgan knew it too, that’s why he moved us into the sitting room so we could sit down and relax. His words, not mine.
I tensed when he put his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
I remained tensed. “I hope you’re lying about everything.”
“Trust me, angel,” he snorted. “I wish I was.”
I screamed when a loud shout sounded out in the hal
lway, and for some reason, I thought of Barbara, even though I knew that she was safe. I put her in her crate and put her in my bedroom once Morgan said we had to leave my office because the brothers were on their way. I remained as still as a statue as the sitting room door flung open, and Damien barrelled into the room, each of his brothers filing in behind him. I shrunk under their gaze because I had never seen them look so maddening before.
“Look what the cat dragged in.”
“Carter,” Damien all but hissed. “If you’ve hurt her—”
“I haven’t hurt her. I won’t hurt her … I was never going to hurt her,” Morgan said with a grunt. “I was never going to hurt any of you, not physically. I couldn’t ever do that to another human. I couldn’t ever take someone’s life … but you five … you killed my family, so I had to do something to get you back.”
“Your family killed our parents,” Alec snapped. “Your family took our lives from us. Your family has brought nothing but pain to the women we love, and now your fucking family has touched one of the purest women I’ve ever known. Fuck you, and fuck your evil family.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, terrified. “Oh, my God.”
Alec … his eyes … I had never seen him look at someone with so much pain and hatred.
“It’s okay,” Morgan said, his hand squeezing my shoulder. “It’s good that you get to see them for who they really are.”
Alec turned his gaze from Morgan to me, and when he saw how scared I was of him at that moment, he paled.
“Lana,” he said softly. “Do not let this guy get in your head. You know me.”
“Does she, though?” Morgan questioned. “She seemed pretty surprised when I told her all about our upbringing, how you all had special jobs because Damien killed Trent, but not really until a few years later that is. She knows Alec killed Marco, and Kane killed Big Phil. She was so surprised; I mean, just look at her. The poor girl is still in shock.”
Nico took a step forward, his eyes locked on Morgan.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Simple,” Morgan replied. “I wanted to hurt all of you, if I could, for what you have done. Something that would be long lasting, and when I watched from the shadows and saw how you all treated Alannah … well, I figured what was the harm in turning her against all of you.”
Damien didn’t blink once as Morgan spoke.
“I know you all love her, in your own different ways, of course,” Morgan continued. “She is the gem of your little group. She isn’t a loud mouth bitch like Bronagh, an asshole like Keela, or annoying dogs like Aideen and Branna. I’ve watched you all together, and none of your women are appealing past their looks. None but Alannah, she is practically an angel, and I knew I could get into her sweet little mind. I barely had to try; she welcomed me with open arms.”
Damien stepped towards Morgan, but when I sucked in a breath, he remained still.
“I expected to see you guys while I worked in her office from time to time, but I was amazed that none of you came by to check me out. Not a single one of you. None of you ever dropped by or called her. I could have killed her a hundred times, and none of you would have known it was me. You’re shitty friends.”
I looked down at my hands as I knotted my fingers together.
“I told you, angel,” Morgan said softly to me. “You’re expendable to them. They don’t care about you, not really.”
“Carter,” Nico all but snarled. “Stop messing with her.”
Morgan snorted but stopped talking.
“What now?” Ryder demanded. “You just wanted to air our dirty laundry, and that’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You’ll leave then?”
This question came from Damien.
“Why would I stick around?” Morgan questioned with a raised brow. “I did what I set out to do. I hurt you all by getting inside my little angel’s head. She knows every dirty little secret there is to know about you. She knows that none of you trusted her enough to tell her anything when you had years and every fucking opportunity to do so. She won’t forget about me anytime soon, or what I opened her eyes to. None of you will. Even if she forgives you, she’ll know everything and how you’ve treated her like an outsider. That’s good enough for me.”
“And if you don’t walk out of this apartment,” Kane growled. “Will that be enough for you?”
“You won’t kill me.” Morgan smiled, completely at ease. “I’ve never touched a hair on anyone’s head, and I never intended to. You may look like a monster, Kane, but you aren’t the monster Big Phil trained you to be … at least, I don’t think you are.”
“He’s not a monster,” Alec cut in, “but I am. I was the one to take Marco’s life, not him.”
Hearing Alec admit he murdered someone crushed me.
“Ah, but that was justified, was it not?” Morgan grinned. “You were horrendously abused because he sold you to people like a pack of cigarettes. I think anyone would say what you did was warranted and then some.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Nico snapped.
Morgan chuckled. “I’m not too sure about you, Nico. I’ve watched your fights over the years, and for a while, I could have sworn you enjoyed hurting other people.”
“You’re wrong,” Damien interjected. “He never hurt any of those fighters more than he had to … He never would have fought anyone if it wasn’t for Marco. None of my brothers would have done any of the things they had to if it wasn’t for him.”
“I think you’re partially to blame,” Morgan said. “Don’t you? I mean, you didn’t kill Trent, but you thought you did. You tried to … You wouldn’t have pulled the trigger otherwise. And all over a girl you knocked up.”
My world crumbled around me.
I froze. “What?”
Morgan focused on me. “That’s one thing I forgot to mention to you. Damien knocked up his girlfriend when he was a kid.”
He sounded like he took pleasure in telling me something that hurt me to hear.
“I thought you were me friend, Morgan.”
“I am,” he stressed. “I’ve opened your eyes to what the brothers really are.”
“They’ve done nothin’ willingly from the sound of it.”
“Agreed, for the most part,” Morgan said. “Except they never told you about their past when all the other girls knew about it. They never told you that you were knocked out the night my brother died and used as a bargaining chip. They never told you because they don’t trust you, angel. They never have, and they never will. Can’t you see that?”
I lifted my hands to my head as it throbbed.
“Shut the fuck up!” Damien snapped, his voice sounding murderous. “Stop playing fucking mind games with her.”
“Mind games?” Morgan repeated. “I’m telling her the truth, which is the least I can do considering you assholes were never going to.”
I felt sick, so I crossed my arms over my stomach.
“Baby,” Damien said, his focus on me and his voice softening. “You know me. You know my family.”
“Do I?” I repeated, looking at the floor. “Do I really, Damien? Because I’ve just learned things about your lives, about my life, that I had no clue about.”
“You have to believe us when we say it was for your own protection, Alannah.”
It was Alec who spoke, but I didn’t react. I kept my gaze on the floor.
“Me protection?” I repeated with a scowl. “Because I’m poor, helpless Alannah who can’t make decisions or fend for ’erself, right?”
“No!” The brothers chorused.
I ignored them.
“I feel sick,” I said, my lower lip wobbling. “I feel like everythin’ has been a huge lie. I don’t know any of you.”
“Lana—”
“Alannah,” I cut Damien off with a bellow. “Stop callin’ me that. You aren’t allowed to call me that anymore. None of you are.”
“Touch her, Carter, and I’ll break your h
and.”
It was Kane who spoke, and the tone of his voice terrified me.
“I want you all to leave.”
“No!” Damien snapped after I spoke. “We need to talk about this.”
“Now we need to talk?” I repeated, looking up into his grey eyes where I forced myself to ignore the turmoil in them. “You want to tell me about this mess now, when you’ve had years. Literally fuckin’ years to tell me about somethin’ that I was directly involved in?”
Silence.
“I feel like a fool!” I shouted, my voice breaking. “I feel like a fuckin’ eejit. Did you all laugh at me behind me back because I was so clueless? Did you laugh because you knew I loved you all, and you never cared a fuckin’ bit about me? Did you all get a kick out of it?”
“You’re my sister,” Ryder said, his eyes heavy with sadness. “You watched my sons come into this world. Do you think I’d have allowed that if I didn’t love you?”
I looked away from his daring eyes, unable to form a coherent reply.
“Don’t touch me,” I said when Damien attempted to walk towards me. “Don’t you dare touch me ever again.”
“And that, my friends, sounds like a job well done to me. I’ll take it as my cue to leave.”
Morgan stood up, but none of the brothers moved a muscle.
“If you’re going to kill me,” Morgan said, not an ounce of fear in his tone. “Do it or let me leave this life and you five in my past because I’m fucking done with this bullshit. I’ve avenged my uncle and brother in my way. I’m at peace, and they’re dead because of the life they chose.”
Still, no one moved.
“Please,” I said, my throat tight with emotion. “Please, just let ’im leave. I want ’im to go away and never come back.”
“I’ll do just that, angel.”
I focused on the brothers, and one by one, though it seemed to cause them great distress, they stepped aside and allowed Morgan to walk by them. I stood up and followed him, only to be halted when a hand latched onto my arm.
“No,” Damien said. “We are making sure he leaves here, leaves the country. You sit down.”
I touched his hand with mine and removed it from my arm.
“For once,” I said, not able to look him in the eye, “trust me with somethin’. I need to speak with ’im before he leaves for good.”